............Martin Luther............

November 10, 1483-February 18, 1546[age 62]

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Eisleben, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire

Facts about Martin Luther
  • Studied at the University of Erfurt

  • On October 31, 1517 he published his "95 Theses"

  • Was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the protestant reformation

  • two of his brothers died during the outbreak of the plague

  • 1517 he nailed the 95 theses to a door of a Catholic Church in Germany



Martin Luther was born into Roman Catholicism in the small town of Eisleben, near modern Berlin in Germany. His parents were Hans and Margrethe Luther, middle-class peasant laborers. His father, a miner, worked hard to ensure a proper education for his son, and by age 21 Martin Luther held a Master of Arts degree from the University of Erfurt. But later that year, while traveling through a terrible thunderstorm, Martin had an experience that would change the course of his future. Fearing for his life when a lightening strike narrowly missed him, Martin cried out a vow to God. If he survived he promised to live as a monk. Martin Luther then entered the Augustinian Order at Erfurt in less than a month's time, becoming an Augustinian friar. He is known for the aspects of Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther became one of the most influential figures in Christian history. Martin Luther served theology at university of Wittenburg. His desire for people to feel closer to God led him to translate the Bible into the language of the people changing the relationship between church leaders and their followers. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed his famous 95-Thesis to the University's bulletin board, the Castle Church door, formally challenging church leaders on the practice of selling indulgences and outlining the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone. This act of nailing his Thesis to the church door has become a defining moment in Christian history, symbolic of the birth of the Protestant Reformation.